India look to seal series against plucky Proteas as concerns mount around SKY and Gill
Ahmedabad (PTI): India would hope that the challenging home assignment against South Africa, which has exposed a few chinks in the armour and thrown up difficult questions on selection, ends on a positive note when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International here on Friday.
After being blanked 0-2 in the Tests, India bounced back to win the ODI series and now have an unassailable lead 2-1 in the T20Is after the fourth game was abandoned due to poor weather conditions in Lucknow on Wednesday.
That India cannot lose the series should be comforting to embattled head coach Gautam Gambhir given that the other two leaders in the camp -- skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill -- are battling challenges of their own with less than two months to go for the T20 World Cup.
For someone who was ranked world No.1 not so long ago, Suryakumar's form has sharply nosedived in the only format he is assured a place in the XI for India.
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Having gone through 18 innings in 20 matches this year without a single half-century while averaging a poor 14.20 for his 213 runs, every failure for Suryakumar is adding to the concerns of the Indian camp.
Adding to it is the Gill conundrum.
Gill's return as vice-captain in the T20I format might have been perceived as one which put Suryakumar on notice a few months ago, but the former's ordinary run with the bat since his comeback and the latest injury setback only hampers the team's cause.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
Earlier, Gill had missed most of the two-Test affair following a injury to his neck which he suffered in the series-opener in Kolkata, something that also highlighted his busy schedule and growing list of responsibilities in Indian cricket across formats.
Samson was never the right fit in the lower order as the lowest he has batted apart from the top slot is at No.5, where the right-handed batter has scored a mere 138 runs in eight matches at an average of 23.
But each of his three T20I centuries and one half-century have come at the top slot in 14 innings, and in case of Gill's unavailability for the final game, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter would be keen to make it count.
Aside from this, India have a settled unit with both the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, featuring in all three games so far
In the pace attack, Arshdeep Singh is coming into his elements and is also beginning to forge a partnership with Harshit Rana with the ball.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the third T20I due to personal reasons, joined the team's camp before the fourth match.
A batting-friendly wicket here will pose a challenge to India's best bowler in the series Varun Chakravarthy (6 wickets).
For South Africa, who have blown hot and cold particularly with the bat in the T20I series, Friday's contest will be an opportunity to end with the satisfaction of drawing a series against India.
The Proteas could mull over bringing Aiden Markram back in the top order in place of Reeza Hendricks, who hasn't found his rhythm on this tour.
But at the same time, the visitors would also want the young and dangerous Dewald Brevis to find his form after having ordinary outings in each of the three completed matches in the series.
South Africa have also missed aggressive knocks from Marco Jansen, which made the ODI series such a tightly-contested affair but to their credit, Lungi Ngidi and Ottneil Baartman have done a fair job with the ball.
Teams (from):
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Ottneil Baartman, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Lutho Sipamla.
Match starts at 7:00pm IST.
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I am worried for all those who are worried about Abhishek's form: Suryakumar
Ahmedabad (PTI): Suryakumar Yadav was cheeky and sarcastic at the same time when the inevitable query on Abhishek Sharma's hattrick of ducks came up ahead of India's T20 World Cup game against South Africa on Sunday.
"About Abhishek's form, I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek's form. I worry about them. Why are they so worried about Abhishek's form?" Surya, the protective skipper, who walks the talk when it comes to team ethos "All For one and One For All", said dismissing the query like his customary 'Supla' shot.
"Last year, Abhishek covered for all of us. Now it is our duty to cover for him," said Surya, with an obvious reference to his own wretched form that continued for last one year."
For world's No 1 ranked T20 batter Abhishek, the skipper was ready to go that extra mile for what all his junior teammate achieved in the one year run-up to the World Cup.
"But I think about those teams who are going to play against him. That he has not yet scored a run. You know the rest of the answers. When he scores a run, you have seen what happens. It happens, it's a team sport, it keeps going on."
Abhishek has been dismissed by off-spinner in successive games trying to slog and the skipper is least bothered about the type of bowling that's getting him out or the manner of dismissal.
For Surya, important point is to see Abhishek playing his natural attacking game, hell or high water.
"Our team requires a certain kind of game from Abhishek and he is trying to play in that manner. We never want him to lose his identity. If his method doesn't work, we are there to cover for him," Surya said.
During South Africa's practice session on Friday, skipper Aiden Markram, who bowls off-breaks, was seen trying to bowl keeping two cones one on off stick and one on the leg stick. It was an effort to keep it within line of three stumps.
This is a ploy that has given both Salman Ali Agha and Aryan Dutt success against Abhishek.
"Whether they put off-spinners or left-arm spinners, we have played so much cricket, I think everyone is well equipped. You won't get a rough patch even if an off-spinner bowls in first two overs. We play franchise cricket, domestic cricket. In that, off-spinners also bowl with the new ball so many times to the left-handers."
The skipper said that it is imperative to have one's own gameplan.
"Everyone has their own game plan of how to play and who to play. At that time, if the team has a requirement to play shots and make runs, then we will make runs against off-spinners also. But as I said, everyone has their own game plan."
